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Raakel's Mom Has Got It Going On
We had no choice. We would have to take a few minutes to let everyone— Varis—catch their breath and patch their wounds. It looked like Wrathbourne’s mother would need a moment or two as well. We didn’t have much time before we heard the clear sound of guards approaching the breeding pits, and lots of them. “Here. This way,” Wrathbourne rushed over to a stone wall, her mother staying close by her side. She ran her fingers along a near-invisible groove, and a portion of the wall recessed and revealed a dark corridor beyond. Without pause, we entered the ten foot wide passageway and Wrathbourne closed the opening behind us. “The summoning room is up ahead. This is the path the demons take to the … breeding pits.” She hesitated to say the last part. Sure enough, chanting could be heard ahead of us. The little light we had revealed deep gashes in the stone''. Claws''. I shuddered to think of the monstrous creatures that made those marks … and what they might have done to their mates. How Rillara had managed to survive her time here, I didn’t know. I heard a shuffle and a grunt up ahead. “Sorry, Momma,” Gar crooned. I just shook my head. He definitely needed obedience school. I couldn’t tell you how many times I had caught him licking himself. At the end of the passageway were two large, metal doors. Taking a breath to steel ourselves, we opened the doors. Five sets of eyes turned toward us as the room fell silent. It was a large room, worked stone with a glowing summoning circle at its center. Flanked by four robed figures, there was one priestess standing in the middle. To the right was a raised dais; to the left, an unnatural fire. The first two robed figures went down with a single attack from Gar. Praxis discharged his gun, making enough noise to summon more trouble, and took another robed figure out of the fight. The priestess in the middle of the summoning circle was made of tougher stuff, though. She had taken two attacks and was still managing to chant in Abyssal, the language of demons. I couldn’t understand what she was saying, but knew we needed to stop her before she summoned something much more formidable. Varis, Praxis, and Gar put the heat on her while I just tried to stay close enough to give everyone the benefit of my healing if they needed it. The priestess managed to finish her chant, letting out an evil cackle to celebrate her success. The fire flared and out trudged eight small, grey-skinned demons. Though they were no more than waist high, they had razors for teeth and sharp-looking claws. They just happened to come out and stay in a nice, little almost-orderly group. It was the perfect time to use a burst of psychic energy on them. One attack and six were gone. I’d have to remember to pat myself on the back for that one later … if we made it out of here alive. Another round of attacks from the boys and Raakel—as I heard her mother call her—and the priestess was all alone. She would only last a moment longer; thankfully not long enough to summon any more nasty creatures. We left the summoning room and made a left, pressing our backs to the walls as a contingent of guards rushed past. Raakel announced what was behind each door we passed. We would have to go through the mess hall and a large barracks before making it out to the concealed harbor. Praxis must have gotten confused when Raakel mentioned the barracks, because he opened the closed door to a room with eight beds … and eight ready guards. We were greeted by the ugly sight of an orc with a nasty club and a nastier face. Behind him were seven drow, most notching arrows and taking aim. I had the thought to just close the door and keep going, but that would leave eight more people hot on our heels. We had a brief moment of surprise working for us and took action. Praxis, Gar, and Varis managed to take down all but three of the drow with bows, and also to bloody the Orc. A few glancing arrows, two nasty swings of a club, and the sharp slice of a short sword were all the injuries we sustained from the guards. We didn’t have the time to stack bodies or retrieve arrows before booted footsteps could be heard heading our way from the breeding pits. We managed to run through the near-empty mess hall undetected. Our sprint put a greater distance between us and our pursuers. We only managed to draw the attention of three men in the large barracks, and they were now hot on our heels. That didn’t seem to matter much, though, because there was light in the distance—''natural'' light—and the sound of waves lapping against the rocky shore. We were almost to the port! I hoped that the Admiral had somehow made it out of the complex and back on Fool’s Errant. We stood little chance of maneuvering the ship out of this secluded port with no captain. Unfortunately for us, the docks were a bustle with slaves, slave drivers, and brutish orcs. “All those who want to live, drop to your knees, hold your hands up, and surrender your weapons.” Varis was still huffing and puffing from our sprint to the docks. Bloody and ragged, he seemed to barely have the strength to hold up his crossbow in warning. The only people that were affected by his words were the slaves, who were already cowering in fear from their masters. Raakel was the next to enter from the mouth of the cave. The air seemed to swirl around her, picking up her violet cloak and whipping it around her booted feet. I watched as her face contorted, her jaw elongating, her skin becoming drawn and tight over protruding cheekbones. Her eyes opened, blood red eyes the same glowing crimson of the stones adorning her circlet and belt. “Leave or die.” As Raakel spoke, her voice changed into something deep and malevolent. I watched her mother carefully for a reaction, ready to pull her away from her daughter if need be. Her mother seemed unperturbed by Raakel’s display. If anything, she seemed to straighten her back and stand taller as she took her daughter’s hand in her own. Once their hands touched, Raakel seemed to return to herself, looking out toward the people on the docks to see that most were not affected by her display. Some slaves had found hiding places and a few of the drow had taken a step or two back, but they were still ready for a fight. Gar reached down to grab Rillara’s hand, looking up at her with a dopy grin and swinging their arms back and forth. “If we make it out of this alive … you and me, Momma.” He winked at her. “Even if you don’t,” he shrugged. “''Eh''. I can put the feel in necro''phil''ia.” He waggled his eyebrows. She retracted her hand as if he burned her. “Um, I’m sorry?” Her mother was clearly just as confused as the rest of us. Raakel’s lip started to curl into a sneer. Her chest was heaving with barely controlled rage. Her face seemed to shift slightly with each breath. “''Don’t'' talk about my mother that way.” Her voice was already starting to change. Gar didn’t seem too affected by the slap, or even the creepy transformation Raakel was undergoing. “Sorry, Momma.” Another wink. I knew I had to dispel this situation before things got ugly—''uglier''. “Gar, here,” I stepped in between them, struggling for words, “he’s still not used to being around people much. He’s much more … animalistic.” “''Yeah''! Rawr, baby,” he purred. Ugh. Not helping! “''Shut up'', Gar! Just … shut up.” I could hear the footsteps from the corridor getting closer. Thankfully, the people on the docks seemed just as disgusted by the exchange as we did. They had stayed rooted to the ground. No one had advanced on us … yet. “Fine. Fine. I’ll behave. Let’s just get this over with.” Finally! ''I only hoped that Raakel wouldn’t make Gar a casualty of the crossfire. And speaking of crossfire, arrows were being launched our direction from archers on the docks! Thank my lucky stars, though, because Admy showed up on the deck of ''Fool’s Errant! He and my two hobbies returned fire on the archers. I also pulled out my bow and fired back. Praxis fired his gun—there was no use in being quiet now—and Varis went after an orc who was coming toward us. Raakel, busy attacking a nearby foe with magical energy, hadn’t realized three more people had joined the fight. “This doesn’t belong to you, sister,” a shadowy figure announced as he picked up Rillara and turned back toward the tunnel. We weren’t about to let that happen. I let Praxis do an extra attack and sent the shadowy man into a zone of control and pain that Gar and Raakel had put up. He would be attacked if he hit anyone accept Gar and would be hurt if he tried to leave the area. That would keep him busy for a few moments, but there were Raakel’s two other brothers to deal with. I couldn’t see the family resemblance. Raakel favored her mother, but these guys didn’t even look remotely like them. One brother was short, had red skin, and strange features. The other looked very old, with age spots on his bald head, a hunched posture, and thick glasses that made his eyes look huge. The short red guy took Gar from feeling fresh to half dead on one hit! He would have to go in the “naughty” zone for a time out. Unfortunately, the old brother had the ability to shift and move his brothers. He placed them both in the right position for an attack. Thankfully, the shadowy man with the great sword would only last one more round. Meanwhile, Raakel and Rillara were slowly making their way toward the ship. I hung back to offer what little healing I had left to Varis, who was currently taking the brunt of the impacts. Gar wasn’t doing too well, either, and had pulled back from the fight to let his giant toad attack for him. I kept on calling for the boys to just leave the last two brothers and jump on the boat. The sound of several sets of feet pounding the ground was coming from the tunnel across from where Fool’s Errant was docked. If they didn’t hurry, we’d get caught in the crossfire again. Having retreated almost to the boat, myself, I had nothing left to do but animate my iron hound in case someone popped out from the nearby tunnel. That would turn out to be pointless, as the boys finally felled the last two brothers and were running our direction. Well, Varis and Praxis were running. Gar had wild-shaped into a raven and was flying toward the ship. I boarded just in time to see Raakel reach up and pluck the Gar-bird from the air. She flung him down with quite some force to the deck, and he landed with a loud squawk. I guess the momentary truce for the fight was now over. This would be interesting … considering we still had to manage to get out of the port without being broadsided or fired at by the other ships milling around. ~Zaly